Article

Modeling relationship between cognitive abilities and economic achievements

Authors:
To read the full-text of this research, you can request a copy directly from the authors.

Abstract

Both economists and psychologists proved the role of cognitive abilities and competencies in economic achievements. The assumption that more capable and educated individuals achieve better economic results underlies most of these researches. This assumption is evidently true as a general tendency, but it cannot explain modest economic achievements in certain countries with high levels of human capital development. We propose that problem solving is the mediator between human competencies and achievements. Creation of goods and services is based on problem solving in design, production and delivery. The quality of problem solving depends on human competencies and, in turn, determines economic achievements. More importantly, the choice of problems to be solved creates or does not create the possibility for application of highly qualified labor and, as a result, for full-fledged realization of human capital. We propose a mathematical model based on these assumptions. The simulation reproduces most important traits of Lynn and Vanhanen's (2002) findings. The simulation shows a non-linear growth of economic achievements with national IQ growth as well as an increase of between countries variance. Thereby the proposed model can serve as a satisfactory explanation for empirical data on links between national IQs and economic achievements.

No full-text available

Request Full-text Paper PDF

To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the authors.

... Such tools allow for a flexible approach to the construction of dynamic models of socio-economic systems functioning as a result of an individual economic agent's behavior. Examples of other classes of simulation models where we can see the impact of a participant's psychological characteristics on project result are presented in [22]. ...
Chapter
A huge amount of the issues in the realm of scientific endeavor are decided by member of expert communities in various fields. Decisions that sanction the funding of project proposals are based on a voting process. Such decision-making is particularly applied in the evaluation of applications to publicly-funded initiatives, which include the awarding of higher academic degrees and titles, in competitions to fill personnel vacancies, and other similar areas.
... In this we confirmed that national IQs are significantly correlated with per capita income and showed that national Voracek (2013) [38] wrote that "The publication of a compilation of national intelligence (IQ) estimates for the world's countries by Lynn and Vanhanen has spawned considerable interest among researchers across a variety of scientific disciplines…Up to now, across dozens of studies, theoretically expected and thus meaningful aggregate-level associations of national IQ with numerous other psychological, socioeconomic, and demographic indicators have been obtained." The validity of our national IQs was also endorsed by Sergey Kulivets and Dmitri Ushakov (2016) [39] of the Russian Academy of Sciences. They wrote: "We propose that problem solving is the mediator between human competencies and achievements. ...
Article
Full-text available
I first encountered the question of race and intelligence sixty-eight years ago[...]
Article
Full-text available
Researches support by competitive funding mechanisms realized through scientific foundations is a common global practice. At the same time, decisions on support or refusal of a scientific project financing are made because of results of a multistage examination, which is a primary part of the competitivefunding system and is conducted by the scientific community itself (peer review). It is important to take into account that the decisions of each expert in a situation of choice are influenced by his individual economic and psychological characteristics. Usually, these characteristics are neglected, but in our opinion, they should not be underestimated. This article presents an agent- based model of professional expertise and decision-making on financial support for research projects by scientific foundations, considering the economic and psychological characteristics of agents-experts and the reputational consequences of their decisions. The model takes into account such individual economic andpsychological characteristics of scientists as "individualism - collectivism", "satisfaction - dissatisfaction" and others. The quality of projects, the qualifications of scientists, their propensity for subjectivity and objectivity in the process of project evaluation, depending on the economic and psychological characteristics are also considered. Feedbacks in the model are implemented by changing the reputation of scientists, depending on the degree of objectivity of projects evaluations including by comparing the reputation of the researcher with the average reputation of his immediate surrounding. Conclusions about changes in the structure of researcher's groups within the scientific community are made on the basis of changes in the reputation of scientists, depending on their belonging to the class of dependent (pursuing the interests of individual groups and communities) or the class of independent (conducting a fair evaluation of research projects). Recommendations for the further development of the model and for using it to predict the outcomes of local situations in autonomous socio-economic systems are formulated.
Chapter
The furniture manufacturing sector of the Baltics is facing serious challenges common in all European countries, namely, the growing global competition for customized solutions. New standards to be followed in the industry tend to increase production costs, extend manufacturing time and cause frequent errors in the product quality. To maintain sustainability, companies need decision support instruments, allowing an immediate reaction to customized orders and proper evaluation of manufacturing procedures, costs and deadlines. The complex problem of cost estimation at an early stage could be solved partly by strengthening operational research in decision support systems supplemented with machine learning techniques. Additional reliability could be acquired complementing an intelligent system with a human knowledge intervention and applying outcomes of behavioural operational research. Scientific and methodological issues of how to integrate the output of structured expert judgement into an intelligent cost estimation system is a pressing problem. The goal of the present research is to look into the cultural pattern of competence recognition within furniture industry with the purpose to adjust the structural expert judgement strategy as an instrument to validate expert input into the decision support tool for cost estimation. The research is based on mix method strategy (a qualitative study, a quantitative study and a structured expert judgement experiment). The findings clearly highlighted that a well-composed group of experts could be a possible solution in assessing uncertain aspects of cost estimation. Although the cultural model of the furniture sector would recommend a slightly different approach: the top executives and the best engineers in this sector are seen as experts. This should be taken into account when developing methodological recommendations for the implementation of the structured expert judgement.
Article
Full-text available
For the analysis of psychological factors of economic behavior the article suggests applying the system approach that allows to overcome the fragmentation of the study of the man and the society inherent in the various branches of science and become closer to the creation of a single coherent picture of the relationship of human behavior and the dynamics of the society. System models of the interaction of economic agent and market (in a broad sense ‒ the society) that reflect variants of dominance of one of the members of the «agent ‒ market» pair are developed. It is shown that consideration of both the agent and the society in the form of complex socio-economic systems is the most productive approach. So the system structure of the agent as a set of four interacting subsystems ‒ intentional (reflects agent's intentions), expectational (reflects agent's expectations), cognitive (reflects agent's perception of the environment) and functional (reflects the agent's behavior) is represented in the study. The concept of «soul» as a unique individual principle coordinating the four aspects of life activity of an economic agent is formulated. Characteristic features of the agent's mind influence on their decision-making in the situation of socio-economic choice are analyzed. As an example, the agent's behavior in two situations is considered ‒ in the situation of the agent as a producer (product selection for production) and in the situation of the agent as a consumer (selection of a new vehicle for purchase). According to the scheme underlying the concept of rationality, the agent forms goals and a set of acceptable alternatives of choice upon which to choose the best possible solution based on a certain criterion of optimality. The structural pattern-model of interaction between the man and the society is developed, the system structures of which are considered as isomorphic and consist of the following seven layers: mental, cultural, institutional, cognitive, organizationaltechnological, imitative and behavioral. The features of interaction between the same layers of these systems in the context of institutional changes are revealed.
Book
Full-text available
Lynn and Vanhanen test the hypothesis on the causal relationship between the average national intelligence (IQ) and the gap between rich and poor countries by empirical evidence. Based on an extensive survey of national IQ tests, the results of their work challenge the previous theories of economic development and provide a new basis to evaluate the prospects of economic development throughout the world. They begin by reviewing and evaluating some major previous theories. The concept of intelligence is then described and intelligence quotient (IQ) introduced. Next they show that intelligence is a significant determinant of earnings within nations, and they connect intelligence with various economic and social phenomena. The sociology of intelligence at the level of sub-populations in nations is examined, and the independent (national IQ) and dependent (various measures of per capita income and economic growth rates) variables are defined and described. They then provide empirical analyses starting from the 81 countries for which direct evidence of national IQs is available; the analysis is then extended to the world group of 185 countries. The hypothesis is tested by the methods of correlation and regression analyses. The results of statistical analyses support the hypothesis strongly. The results of the analyses and various means to reduce the gap between rich and poor countries are discussed. A provocative analysis that all scholars, students, and researchers involved with economic development need to confront.
Chapter
The social ecology of intelligence is concerned with the relation between the mean IQ of populations and a variety of social and economic phenomena. Data are presented for the British Isles, France and Spain. It is shown that there are regional variations in the mean population IQ in all three countries. These mean IQs are closely related to measures of intellectual achievement, income, unemployment and infant mortality. It is proposed that the intelligence didfferences are causal to the social and economic differences. Data are also presented to show that selective migration between regions have been an important factor in bringing about contemporary differences in regional mean IQs.
Article
In their book, IQ and the Wealth of Nations, Lynn and Vanhanen ([Lynn, R. and Vanhanen, T. (2002). IQ and the wealth of nations. Westport, CT: Praeger.]) proposed the hypothesis that “the intelligence of the populations has been a major factor responsible for the national differences in economic growth and for the gap in per capita income between rich and poor nations” (p. xv). They presented analyses showing that national wealth can be predicted by IQ, democracy, economic freedom, and oil production. This paper has four goals. First, we examine the robustness of Lynn and Vanhanen findings using updated IQ and wealth variables and updated sources of democracy, economic freedom, and oil production. Second, we evaluate the curvilinear relationship between IQ and national wealth. Third, we address concerns over the accuracy of IQ estimates in low IQ countries by evaluating whether the relationship between IQ and national wealth is dependent on precise estimates of IQ. Fourth, we extend the predictor space of national wealth by examining its correlates with public expenditures on health and education.
Article
The state means of the A-12 V-12 examination, given to over 300,000 young men in April, 1943 may give a rough indication of the educational level of the various states. The intercorrelations of these means and twelve variables reflecting sociological, economic and educational data, for the states, were found. These variables included items such as per capita income (1945), value of school property, auto registrations, and lynchings (1882-1944)/100,000. Factor analysis revealed four factors, economic status, predominantly urban population, location in north rather than south, and a factor which the writers cannot describe apart from the first three. It was found that the multiple correlation between the A-12 V-12 criterion and four specific variables is .962, showing that from these variables the relative position of the state means could be predicted with little error. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Article
Data are presented to show that there are differences in mean population IQ in different regions of the British Isles. Mean population IQ is highest in London and South-East England and tends to drop with distance from this region. Mean population IQs are highly correlated with measures of intellectual achievement, per capita income, unemployment, infant mortality and urbanization. The regional differences in mean population IQ appear to be due to historical differences which are measured back to 1751 and to selective migration from the provinces into the London area.
Article
Data are presented for the 90 Departements of France for mean population IQs, earnings, unemployment, intellectual achievement and infant mortality. Most of the variables are significantly associated. Mean population IQs are also significantly correlated with migration since 1801 and it is suggested that internal migration has been an important factor leading to contemporary differences in intelligence.
Psikhologiya intellekta i odarennosti
  • D V Ushakov
Ushakov, D. V. (2011). Psikhologiya intellekta i odarennosti [Psychology of intelligence and giftedness].
Trapeznikov Institute of Control Sciences of Russian Academy of Sciences, Ph.D. Research area: game theory, cognitive maps and informational control modeling, social and complex networks
  • References Sergei
References Sergei G. Kulivets-senior researcher, V. A. Trapeznikov Institute of Control Sciences of Russian Academy of Sciences, Ph.D. Research area: game theory, cognitive maps and informational control modeling, social and complex networks, networks in cognitive Science, discrete optimization, artificial intelligence E-mail: skulivec@yandex.ru
Ushakov -head of the laboratory of psychology and psychophisiology of creativity, Institute of Psychology of Russian Academy of Sciences, corresponding member of Russian Academy of Sciences, D.Sc., professor. Research area: intelligence, creativity
  • V Dmitry
Dmitry V. Ushakov -head of the laboratory of psychology and psychophisiology of creativity, Institute of Psychology of Russian Academy of Sciences, corresponding member of Russian Academy of Sciences, D.Sc., professor. Research area: intelligence, creativity, philosophy of psychology. E-mail: dv.ushakov@gmail.com
Сфера интересов: теория игр, когнитивные карты и информационное управление, анализ больших сетей, дискретная оптимизация
  • А Трапезникова
А. Трапезникова РАН, кандидат технических наук. Сфера интересов: теория игр, когнитивные карты и информационное управление, анализ больших сетей, дискретная оптимизация, искусственный интеллект. Контакты: skulivec@yandex.ru
Research area: game theory, cognitive maps and informational control modeling, social and complex networks
  • References Sergei
References Sergei G. Kulivets -senior researcher, V. A. Trapeznikov Institute of Control Sciences of Russian Academy of Sciences, Ph.D. Research area: game theory, cognitive maps and informational control modeling, social and complex networks, networks in cognitive Science, discrete optimization, artificial intelligence E-mail: skulivec@yandex.ru
Контакты: dv.ushakov@gmail.com Моделирование взаимоотношений между когнитивными способностями и экономическими достижениями С
  • Ушаков Дмитрий Викторович -Заведующий Лабораторией
  • Ран Институт Психологии
  • Ран
Ушаков Дмитрий Викторович -заведующий лабораторией, ФГБУН Институт психологии РАН, член-корреспондент РАН, доктор психологических наук, профессор. Сфера научных интересов: интеллект, креативность, методология психологии. Контакты: dv.ushakov@gmail.com Моделирование взаимоотношений между когнитивными способностями и экономическими достижениями С.Г. Куливец a, Д.В. Ушаков b a Институт проблем управления им. В.А. Трапезникова РАН, 117997, Россия, Москва, ул. Профсоюз ная, д. 65